The inauguration of the Maine branch of the Alliance Française in Portland on August 29 is a testament to the resurgence of French in a state welcoming increasing numbers of immigrants from Francophone African countries. One quarter of the residents of Maine are of French-Canadian heritage, and yet the French language very nearly disappeared from this state. Quebecer immigrants who...
New York Times op-ed writer Antony J. Blinken hopes that the victory of multicolored France in the World Cup final will positively influence Macron’s plan for the banlieues. A third of the members of this year’s world championship team, he reminds us, were born in these neglected, underprivileged urban areas outside Paris. “It’s time for the Macron government to bring long-awaited...
"Africa won the World Cup!" exclaimed Trevor Noah, the host of the satirical nightly news series, The Daily Show, on Tuesday. The joke shocked the French Ambassador, Gerard Araud, who responded to the comedian in a letter. "A great majority of the players (all but two out of 23) were born in France", wrote the Ambassador. "They were educated in...
I did not let out a cry at every goal in front of my television. However, France’s soccer World Cup victory offers fascinating observations from social, political, and cultural points of view. I have to admit I am far from passionate about soccer. I barely know the rules, and even in the schoolyard I would sullenly refuse to play. However,...[Subscriber]
Fifty-seven people from 16 different countries became naturalized French citizens at a ceremony at the Consulate General of France in New York. Who said, and on what occasion, that “Our country is not a nation founded on blood, but on shared values”? And who celebrated the “diversity of origins” of new citizens at their naturalization ceremony? Anyone would be forgiven...[Subscriber]
The decision made by French President Emmanuel Macron to grant citizenship to an undocumented Malian immigrant created both praise and criticism in France. Mamoudou Gassama saved a four-year-old boy hanging from a fourth-floor in the 18th arrondissement of Paris on Saturday, May 25, which resulted in him receiving a job as a firefighter, an offer of French citizenship, and praise...
Bakers of Maghrebi origin are increasingly renowned in France as they appropriate and preserve one of the nation’s oldest traditions: the baguette. Far from the political debates on immigration currently holding the public’s attention in France and the United States, new French citizens are spontaneously finding their place in society with little trouble. This trend was spectacularly highlighted with the...[Subscriber]
French expats in Montreal are having trouble fitting in. Though the Canadian city has long treasured its shared bond and culture with the French motherland across the Atlantic, they are not so respectful of the recent influx of immigrants that have been pouring through their borders. The Atlantic's CityLab website reports that many Montreal residents have been expressing disapproval at...
French street artist JR has struck again. He's been traveling the world for his project, "Inside Out," and taking large photos of people to paste on the side of buildings. In the latest edition, he installed the image of a Mexican toddler peering curiously from the Mexican side of the border over the wall it shares with the United States....
French people will theoretically not be affected by the immigration ban imposed on Iranian, Iraqi, Libyan, Somalian, Sudanese, Syrian and Yemeni citizens entering the United States, which was repealed on February 4. However, lawyers are telling French people with a dual nationality from any of these countries to stay alert. After two weeks of protests and chaos at the borders,...
Donald Trump’s inauguration took place at the White House last Friday, and the new president has already introduced stricter penalties for undocumented immigrants, refused to welcome Syrian refugees to the United States, and authorized the construction of a fortified wall along the American border with Mexico. The situation in France is not much brighter, with presidential candidate Marine Le Pen...
The Americans do not descend from the Native Americans any more than the French descend from the Gauls. Both nations are in fact melting pots, and throughout our parallel histories, immigration has been, and remains, an essential part of who we are. What goes in the United States, making up part of the national saga, is far less accepted —...
